Feasting part two

Selamat Makan!

So, since I didn’t manage to make all the food-related drool-worthiness fit into one post, here’s a snapshot of our standard dinner: the fish barbecue!

We start by choosing a fish (or prawns, crab, lobster…) and tell them how we want it grilled (rare, medium or well-done).

We can choose if we want the fish served with rice, chips or baked potato, with salad and veggies.

It comes, perfectly done, with dipping bowls of garlic and sambal (chilli paste). So delicious!

Apparently, this is terribly dangerous, because I inevitably overeat.

Then, there’s the treats – the organic restaurant on the beach serves a criminally-delectable warm chocolate brownie with ice cream.

Oh, it’s a hard life! And of course, there’s all the local warungs serving fried rice and curries. Yum!

Feasting – Selamat Makan

One of the best parts of being in Indonesia is the food.

Every morning we sit with the family at our homestay and have a traditional breakfast (well, Littletree usually gets a banana pancake, but I have the Indonesian food)!

It starts out with a really good, locally grown coffee from Lombok, and a carefully-folded paper cone (traditionally, the food is wrapped up in a banana leaf, sadly, those are a thing of the past in most places, as waxed paper has taken over).

We unfurl the paper to reveal a surprise…

Rice with a few different things; spicy fish or chicken curry, sauteed vegetables, peanut sauce, fried tempeh or tofu, shredded coconut, sambal… all manner of local dishes, every day something else.

And every day, delicious!

Eaten with three fingers on the right hand, of course, though using a spoon and fork is also acceptable.

For dinners we often get a fish barbecue, but since the internet here is shaky at best, I’ll have to save that for another post.

Happy Mothers’ Day

Apparently, it was Mothers’ Day (these things always catch me by surprise), and Littletree took it upon herself to get me a present – a gorgeous new sarong; perfect, because I needed a new one. And it’s even green! How did she know that’s my favourite colour?

Then about half the families here for the unschooling camp went to the organic restaurant for a fancy feast, and a bunch of the bigger kids got together to put on an after-dinner show for all the mums!

It was pretty awesome, and hilarious!

Arriving to Gili Air

Once we’d spent our one day in Bali and got every thing organised, it was up at 6am to meet up with the other home schooling families to get on the boat for Gili Air!

Ironically, the kids who felt carsick in the mini bus to the harbour were fine on the boat, and vice versa; the kids who were fine in the bus felt seasick on the boat. But it was a fairly quick and smooth journey. Naturally, we let FlatTyler have the window seat on the boat.

After a quick stop on Lombok, we were away to Gili Air – here’s our first view of the island (yep, it’s very small!)

One of the other home schooling families was already there to greet us at the dock, as well as Abas, from the homestay we stayed at last year. It felt like arriving home!

We dropped our bags off in our room and went straight for the beach, to hang out at Zipp Bar; our favourite spot, so we could show Flat Tyler the beach

And spend the heat of the afternoon sipping icy fruit juices while the kids got settled and swam.

We ended the day with a walk up to the north end of the island to watch the sunset, happy to be here at last.

Mandolin!

Before we left Bali, I made a visit to the music man.

This guy is amazing. He's just a sweet, quiet guy, sitting in the back of a tiny little hole-in-the-wall shop - about half the size of a one-car garage, making guitars, ukuleles and mandolins.

Unlike most stall holders on Bali, he's not standing out the front, hawking his wares or hassling people to come in his shop. He doesn't quote inflated prices that you then have to haggle over. He just loves his instruments, and they are truly incredible works of art - guitars with Balinese filigree carving, ukuleles clearly made with love and care...

He sits, works, and plays music. If you go into his shop, he'll have a friendly chat, jam with you, show you the latest masterpiece he's built (with a gentle, humble manner), and not try to sell you anything.

I love this guy so much, I stop by his shop every time I'm on Bali... I play a little music, I drool over his craftsmanship...

And this time, I bought myself a mandolin! just a simple, cheap mandolin, but I love it! It was $60, with a hand made, very high quality case. I used to play mandolin years ago, but I haven't had one in years... I've been vaguely planning to get a new mandolin for a while, but unable to afford it.

I'm so stoked to not only get a mandolin, but to support a local craftsman. Honestly, I also support this particular guy because he's so quiet and humble. I suspect he makes just as good a living as anyone else selling stuff in the area, but without the intense hassling and overcharging and bargaining. I think everyone should support this guy, and artisans like him.

Most of all, I love my new mandolin, and I’m so happy to have it!

A day in Bali

We had a busy day in Bali – managed to run all our errands, change money, get phones sorted, boat tickets to Gili Air, power adaptors, massages, gorged on Indonesian food…

It’s such a hard life, when one hour Balinese massages are $5.50, and all three of us have a huge banquet including drinks for $8. And we even found time to experience a bit of the craziness of Kuta beach

And enjoy some beers and watch the gorgeous sunset!

While the kids played on the beach… and showed off their new sunglasses.

Selamat Datang!

So we arrived safely to Bali! The Unschooling Adventure Camp has begun! The journey was long, but not too long, and boring, but not so bad.

We brought a special friend with us, a Flat Tyler. Tyler is a teen with cancer who is currently in hospital and in need of cheer. So we’ve brought a cut-out of him (well, we improvised, since I couldn’t get my printer working before we left), you can click HERE for more info about #FlatTyler)

Starting out at Brisbane Airport

We breezed through check-in and having made great time, had a bit to waste around the airport. Littletree just wanted to browse geography books in a bookstore. Apparently it was vital that she teach Tyler all about National Highway One in Australia.

We were lucky enough to get good seats at the front of the plane, and Littletree managed to snag a window seat for Tyler

We had a stopover in Darwin for a couple of hours between flights; boring, but we got to recharge our electronic devices and give each other neck massages

Finally, we landed in Bali, safe and sound. Staying at the same hotel we stayed at last year felt like coming home to somewhere familiar and comfy, and our friends were already here :)

After a good sleep, we woke up to take Tyler for a sunrise swim

And Littletree practised her snorkelling

Then we went off with all the gang for adventures and errands, shopping, eating and exploring. Littletree bought herself fancy new sunglasses!

The kids came back tired out and ready for a swim

In the morning, we leave for Gili Air!

Rock Climbing

Littletree went to an indoor rock climbing centre with home school group yesterday, it was most awesome! She had a great time.

For some reason, I’m not managing to upload all the fantastic photos and video I took on my camera, but here’s a few snaps from my phone.

And that’s it for us; first thing in the morning, we’re getting on a plane to Indonesia for the Unschooling Adventure in Gili Air, http://balihomeschooladventure.blogspot.com.au/

Yay!